Fuchsia ‘Conspicua Arborea’

Horticultural & Botanical History

The hybrid ‘Conspicua’, bred by Banks, produced an attractive shrub, the flowers having a white tube and sepals and vermilion corolla.  ‘Conspicua’ was advertised as a Choice New Fuchsia by Charles Turner of the Royal Nursery, Slough, in The Gardeners Chronicle of 1851.  Fuchsia conspicua was also listed in the Floricultural Cabinet where it was described as a ‘strong growing kind, with lanated leaves and large flowers, particularly showy and graceful.’ [FC 1835].  This is probably Smith’s ‘Conspicua’, described by Nathaniel Norman: ‘Sepals, bright lucid carmine outside, and rosy carmine inside.  Petals bright carmine. A free bloomer.’  [FC p.213/1841].  We can only speculate on the relationship between ‘Conspicua’ and ‘Conspicua Arborea’.

History at Camden Park

Listed in the 1850 and 1857 catalogues [T.466/1850].

Notes

Fuchsia arborescens Sims, synonym Fuchsia arborea Sessé & Moc., the ‘Lilac fuschia’ from Central America, is an erect, evergreen shrub or small tree with opposite or whorled, thin, lance-shaped leaves, to 20cm long, and upright, corymb-like panicles of very small flowers with rose to magenta or purple-pink tubes, rose-purple sepals, and pale mauve corollas, to 1.5cm across, in a single flush in summer.  To 2m.  [RHSE, Hortus].  According to Don it was introduced to Europe in 1824.  BR f.943/1826.  FC p.176/1834.  This is unlikely to be Macarthur’s plant.

A fuchsia called ‘Conspicua’ is still available today, apparently bred by G. Smith in England in 1863.  It has red tube and sepals and white corolla.  This is also unlikely to be Macarthur’s plant.